Dolphins can take big step forward

DAVE HYDE Commentary

November 30, 2008|DAVE HYDE

ST. LOUIS — Last December, they were on the other side of this surprising season, the side that pressed too hard and didn't trust itself, the side that tried not to let every Sunday slip away and barely managed that once.

"When we got down, the fear was we'd fold," Vonnie Holliday said.

"When we needed a play, we weren't sure who could make it," receiver Ted Ginn Jr. said.

"If you had to get a break, you didn't get it," quarterback John Beck said.

That's the other side today. Everything said about the Dolphins in 2007 is repeated about St. Louis in 2008. The Dolphins are lucky to have teams such as the Rams on their schedule. The Rams have injury problems starting at quarterback. They had coaching issues that led to a midseason change.

So it is that Holliday, as big a pro as there is in the Dolphins locker room, knows the recipe for winning these kind of games. It's the same one teams used on the Dolphins all last year.

"Let's get up early and see if they fold," Holliday said. "I'm not saying they will. I'm just saying that's what we've got to do."

Today will tell if this season hit its ceiling midway through the fourth quarter against New England or there's still room for the Dolphins to rise. "A New Season" coach Tony Sparano called it last week, with the idea being some teams make their move now and some drift away.

"You saw what happened on Thanksgiving," Sparano said.

He meant what Tennessee and Dallas did in blowing out teams similar to the Rams. No one thinks the Dolphins are as good as the Titans or Cowboys. But there was another game Thanksgiving, the one where a decent Arizona team folded in Philadelphia.

That's what the Dolphins want to avoid today. They want to keep the season afloat against a team that's sunk.

Sparano has had as good a season as a rookie coach can have thus far. This week he avoided being the tough guy with Joey Porter, saying the linebacker's antics would be dealt with privately. That's how Don Shula handled a similar player in Bryan Cox. Or maybe was handled by him.

Sometimes a coach's role is to let his best players play. But it's this team Sparano needs to push. The Dolphins have been blessed this season by many things, starting with Chad Pennington falling out of the sky. They've also been fortunate about injuries, as the loss of receiver Greg Camarillo underscores. That's the first loss since rookie guard Donald Thomas after the opener.

Then there's the schedule that continues to be a warm wind at their back. Of these last five games, they play three against awful teams in St. Louis, San Francisco and Kansas City. Nothing's a gimme. But playing bad teams in December is as good a patch you get in the NFL.

That should help the Dolphins to nine wins. Assuming they don't trip on a day like today. Assuming they've grown up in the manner everyone wants to believe. That's what today is about, a day in some ways as interesting to the growth chart as the New England game.

The Rams rank 29th in the league in offense and 30th in defense. They rank 28th in takeaways at minus-7. They've lost their past five games by 7, 21, 44, 19 and 24 points.

Everything points to a Dolphins victory, just as the games against Seattle and Oakland did. The Dolphins won those by two points each.

"We haven't exactly played great against teams with bad records," Ginn said.

The Dolphins won't be surprised as they were against New England by how much St. Louis runs a spread offense today. The only part of the Rams to worry about is at the playmaking positions, receiving with Torry Holt and running back if Steven Jackson is healthy.

"It's a copycat league," Holliday said. "They saw what New England had success doing, and we expect they'll try the same. That means us guys up front have to get a better rush on the quarterback."

But these aren't the Patriots coming at them. It's the Rams. It's a team the Dolphins recognize in the rearview mirror, which is why Holliday said again, "As I know last year with a bad season, you just kind of get numb to bad things happening."

We'll see today just what the New England game took out of the Dolphins. We'll see if this season still has some legs to it against as easy an opponent as the season offers. The 2008 Dolphins play the 2007 Dolphins today. Let's see how much they've grown.